The Chapbooks: Collected Poems

By Phil Linz

This collection of poetry reveals one man's journey to connect with family, friends, lovers, geography, music, addictions, and Jewish tradition. Its honesty embraces the reader and provides glimpses into our shared humanity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: September Summer
• Release date: Mar 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9780989611084

Phil Linz

Phil Linz was born in Brooklyn, NY, and was raised in the Rockaway Beach section of Queens, NY. He has also lived in New Orleans, Tucson, Los Angeles, New York City (East Village), Morrisville, PA, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, and Pooler, GA; since October 2011 he has lived in Wilmington, DE. After almost 40 years as a working chemist, Mr. Linz retired in May, 2018.He's been writing poetry since 1971 and is the founder and publisher of Fierce Grace Press, specializing in chapbooks, believing in the concept of "Publishing Under the Radar." This volume includes his eight published chapbooks and two unpublished collections.Mr. Linz may be reached at [e-mail].

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The Chapbooks: Collected Poems

Copyright © 2019 by Phil Linz

Email: [e-mail]

ISBN-13: 978-0-9896110-5-3

ISBN-10: 0-9896110-5-1

ISBN-13: 978-0-9896110-8-4 (e-book)

Anointed Rose Press, Publishers

Upper Darby, PA 19082

Email: [e-mail]

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019913653

Library of Congress Catalog-in-Publication Data

The Chapbooks: Collected Poems/Phil Linz

p.cm.

ISBN (trade pbk.: alk. Paper)

25 24 23 22 21 20 19 AnR LS1 2 3 4 5

1.Poetry (Poetic Works by One Author 2. Interpersonal Relations

Cover Design/Editor:

ANOINTED ROSE PRESS/September Summer Upper Darby, PA [phone]

Illustrations: Ryn Gargulinski

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email the author.

ANOINTED ROSE PRESS™

The Anointed Rose Press name and logo are registered Trademarks of ANOINTED ROSE PRESS™ PUBLISHING

Dedication

For Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs;

for Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith;

and for Stan Dale and Ram Dass

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

What This One's About (Introduction)

from The Sex Stuff: Poems by Phil Linz (1997)

3.Epigram

5.Author’s Note

7.Poem: for Carol

8.Holiday

9.Poem for Leslie: On the New Beginning

10.Prosepoem: for L.

11.Moods: for Corso

12.Poem: for Cheryl

13.Poem for Anthony: The First Night

14.Loving Yvonne:

15.Poem of the Second Chakra

16.The First Touch of Your Lips

17.Stripper Fantasy

18.Phone Sex Poem

19.Poem of Pursuit

20.Hallway Poem

21.On Pride - I

22.Zipless

23.Poem: for Vicki

24.Preparing My Lover’s Bed

25.Because Our Hearts Live In Our Bodies

Roz's Book: In Celebration of Fifty Sixty Years (2000; Second Edition 2010)

29.Dedication

31.Poem: for the Second Edition (Poem for The Book)

32.Author’s Note

33.Invocation

34.Untitled (6/74)

35.Grandparents circa 1925

36.Untitled (3/76)

37.Parents & Grandparents circa 1950

37.Roz & Dad circa 1952

38.The Swimmer

39.Woman on Beach

40.Real Wishes

41.The Duck Woman

42.Poem for Roz

43.For Ken

44.Holiday Poem

45.Poem of Obsession / Poem of Hatred

46.Poem of Positivity--II

47.On Creation: A Re-Telling

48.Challenges

49.For Ilene

50.Poem: for Nazareth

51.PL with Big Buddha, Kent, NY

52.For Roz & Tim: Ten Years

53.The Three-Thousand Mile Garden

54.Untitled (2/96)

55.A Bus Named Desire, New Orleans

56.Moving On: A Poem of Rockaway

57.Rockaway Beach Triptych

58.Pacific Coast Highway

59.Personal Peace

60.Y'Say It's Your Birthday

61.For the Invisible Jew

62.Pooler, Saturday Afternoon

63.Eighty

64.Saxophone, Sixth Avenue, NYC

65.I've Listened...

66.Wedding Poem

67.You Don’t Look Your Age

from The Holiday Poems: 1986 - 2005 (2002; Second Edition, 2006)

71.Dedication

73.Author’s Note: Second Edition

74.Author's Note: First Edition

75.Poem for Oakite: Christmas

76.End of Year Poem

77.Poem: for the Holidays (9/89)

78.Holiday Poem (With Additional Music)

79.For the Holidays: 1990

80.Coffee Shop Poem

81.Holiday Poem: 1991

82.Poem: for the New Year (1993)

83.Poem for the Holidays: 1993

84.Poem: for the New Year (1994)

85.Equinox

86.Chanukah Poem

87.For the Holidays, With Music: 1994

88.Poem for the New Year (1995)

89.Holiday: 1995

90.Holiday Poem: 1996

91.Solstice

92.Holiday Poem: 1997

93.Holiday Poem: 1998

94.Holiday Poem: 1999

95.Holiday Poem: 2000

96.Out of the Ashes

97.Poem for the Holidays: 2001

98.Holiday Poem: 2002

99.The Last Day of the Year/The First Day of the Year

100.Holiday Poem: 2003

101.Holiday Poem: for Ryn

102.Holiday Poem: 2004/5

103.Holiday Poem: 2005

Additional Holiday Poems: 2007 - 2018

104.Holiday Poem: 2007

105.Cloud, Tybee

106.Holiday Poem: 2008

107.Holiday Poem: 2009

108.Holiday Poem: 2010

109.To All: The Poets, The Friends, All Those Who've Forgotten Me

110.Holiday Poem: 2012

111.Holiday Poem: 2013

112.Holiday Poem: 2014

113.Holiday Poem: 2016

114.Holiday Poem: 2017

115.Holiday Poem 2018

from In the Midst of it All: Selected Poems, 2000 - 2001 (2002)

119.Dedication

121.Author’s Note

123.The Trip: Before

124.Working: The Tour

125.Flying Home

126.Vision

127.It’s OK To Go Gentle, Into That Good Night

128.Poem of Desire

130.Barnes & Noble Poem

131.Poem: On Receiving Advice to Become Bankrupt

132.The Night I Kissed David Drake

133.The Days of Awe

134.Poem: for Chris

135.Poem: for the New Kid on the Block

136.The Sopranos: A Pantoum (After the Second Season Finale)

137.Bat Mitzvah Poem

138.Poem for Andy

139.Lipstick

140.Poem for Joe

142.AC

144.On Hearing: the Poet on the Radio

145.Poem: with a Theme by Ellison

146.Desiderata Poem

147.When the Darkness Sweetly Beckons

148.After 9-11

150.Hangin' Out on the Mountaintop: A Retreat Poem

from For Those Who Remain (2003)

153.Dedication

155.Author’s Note

157.Watching Death’s Labors

158.Poem—for My Father

159.Elegy

160.Hospice: the Training

161.Poem—for Mrs. N.

162.The Hand of G-d

163.The Genesis of Hope

164.He Picked People Up

from Kyzen: Selected Poems (Illustrated by Ryn Gargulinski) (2005)

167.Dedication

169.Kyzen: What It's About (Introduction)

171.Beat Youth

172.Saturday Afternoon 2/7/76

173.How a Friendship Emerges

173.Poem for Mary (A Florida Poem)

174.What can we learn from Coyote

175.Chant

177.KK's: Breakfast

178.Toward a Poetry with Balls

179.toward a poetry with balls

180.For the Wedding of Angelo and Katherine

181.butterfly

182.Belated Poem: for Mary

183.Poem: for the Woman with the Scar on Her Neck

183.Letter to Myself

184.turtle rising to the ring

185.For the Retreatants

185.For Ram Dass, My Great Teacher, In Recovery

186.Poem: for Joanie

187.Pax--II

188....I Can't Go to Astoria Without Thinking Of Her

189.In My Mailbox Today: A Found Poem

190.NYC - Morrisville

191.Valentine's Day

192.Morrisville to Croton

193.Poem: for My Bathroom Wall

194.heap o'dead bodies

195.Level 3 Poem

196.Continuity

197.On the Pleasures of Empty Sex

198.On Reading the Sunday Times Magazine at Pete's, Sunday, 3/18/01 (A Found Poem: Approximately)

199.On Tennessee: Cry of the Heart

201.My Gorka Connection

202.Tootsie's Funeral

203.Because You Asked: A Belated Birthday Poem

205.Croton to the SCC: December 2002

206.Photograph: China Pier, January

207.fish below the surface

208.why I can't write...nobody cares

209.Why I Can't Write

212.Poem: for the Man with the Scar on his Neck

213.Ganymede's Song

214.empowerment sestina

215.Empowerment Sestina

217.Barry's Song

from David's Book (2007)

221.Dedication

223.The Chosen Poems: Toward an Explanation

224.Poem for My Denial

225.Independence Day, New York City

228.Why Lisa is Lovable

229.For Joyce (via Ken)

230.Soulmate

231."Yo, Pops"

232.Who’s Got It Better?

233.For David, at Seventy

234.Since 1970

235.Rules

236.Reality Check: No, You’re Not Crazy

237.Move a Muscle, Change a Thought

238.Bittersweet Pain

239.Notes: on the Dissemination of the Files

240.Life and Times

from Ilene's Book: Poems and Photographs (2008)

243.Dedication

244.Phil, Ilene & Roz, Brooklyn, NY, circa 58

244.Roz, Phil & Ilene, East Brunswick, NJ, October 93

245.Introduction: for the Baby at 50

246.Family, Brooklyn, NY, 58

247.Our Father

248.Blanche, Arverne, NY, April 83

249.For Bleimeleh

250.Family, Oceanside, NY, December 84

251.Sisters

252.Phil Feigning Drunkenness, Arverne, NY, October 81 252.

253.Poem from a Brother

254.Ilene, Brooklyn, New York, February 61

254.Ilene, Arverne, New York, July 63

255.The Baby

256.Birthday Poem: The Baby at Thirty.

257.Ten Years Together

258.Belated Poem: Numerology II

259.Mother's Day Poem

260.Belated Poem

261.For the Baby: at 40

262.For Barry / Of Barry

263.Château Gray

264.Poem for the Diva, Ms. Snowi White

265.For Ilene and Friends

266.The Family, East Brunswick, NJ, October 93

267.Birthday Poem: for the Baby at Fifty

from Toward a Working-Man's Poetry: Selected Poems 2004 - 2013 (Unpublished)

271.To Love the Page More

272.Dobbs Ferry Music Festival: August

273.Slow Clap

274.West Asheville Bakery Cafe

276."My Poems will Die with Me"

277.The Family at Denny's

278.Sh'ma

279.Poem Written Just Before Sleep

280.Work Song

from Selected Poems: 2012 - 2015 (Unpublished)

283.Birthday Ghazal

284.Assignment: Purpose of Life Poem

285.Poem of the Uncomfortable Job

286.Belated Poem: Six Birthdays in May

287.On Being at EMD for 15 Years

288.Night at Mark and Gregory's

289.Poem Starting with a Line by David Yezzi

290.Poem Beginning with a Line by Gertrude Stein

291.Cover Letter

292.Knee Replacement/PT Poem

293.Saturday Afternoon 4/5/2014

294.Haircut

295.Poem for David

296.Engender: the desert work, the clarity of the rain

297.After Whitman's A Clear Midnight

298.After: The Hudson at China Point

Biographical Statement

Acknowledgements

Poems have appeared, possibly in slightly modified form, in the following magazines and books: Borderline Personalities: Poetry from Rowe, Enlighten Journal, The Harte Beat, Out-Sight, Vice, Cosmetiscope, Recovery Network Program, Phelps Hospice Newsletter, And Now For Something Completely Different, The True Wheel, HAI Lights, Medicinal Purposes, Touching Body and Spirit, Scarborough Presbyterian Church Newsletter, Erato; Poems: 1970’s - 1990’s, (privately printed, 1994), Lunch With The Muse (Petit Pois Press, Brooklyn, NY, 2001), and The Company We Keep (Poet Warrior Productions, Wayne, NJ, 2003),

Several poems have appeared on the following websites but may not be currently available:

https://foxchasereview.wordpress.com/the-fox-chase-review-winter-201

www.hai.org.ws

www.angelfire. com/journal/saadaya.

https://dansemacabreonline.wixsite.com/neudm

https://jerryjazzmusician.com/2019/09/since-1970-a-poem-by-phil-linz/

Illustrations (Kyzen) © 2005, 2019 by Ryn Gargulinski

Photographs courtesy Linz Family Archives.

© 2019 by Phil Linz for Fierce Grace Press

Fierce Grace Press

c/o Phil Linz

7 Rockford Road, Unit B-8

Wilmington, DE 19806

[e-mail]

Introduction: What This One's About

"I just want to have a book with all the

poems in it before I die."

--from Joel Oppenheimer,

Village Voice, circa 1969

Each chapbook had its own theme--family, friends, the dirty XXX stuff of the first,

But each remains a part of who I am, who I might want to become:

A poet. A brother, a son, a friend. A sexual being. An addict. A man.

Even though some work might offend; it's not for everybody, (from Steppenwolf, long ago).

Parts of me some would want me to hide; I've done enough of that, this life;

Instead, here's (close to) the all of me. Been writing since college, '71, a lifetime of words;

Wrote of hospice & holidays, of friends, family, teachings, learnings,

Tried hard to write truth. Personal, subjective; my own, limited truth.

But real--real as I could make it. Finally, unapologetic,

Here are the words, the books; the poetry. Here's my truth.

I'm an old man now, 65; maybe the poems will die with me (page 276),

But I've made this book, I own its truth; it's what I've done, it's what I am.

I put it out into the world, it's yours now, I can own it & let it go simultaneously.

Ten chapbooks of poetry. One book, to stand on its own. The verse I may yet contribute.

Wilmington, DE

November 2018

THE

SEX

STUFF

"It is because our hearts live in our bodies

That we choose such twisted pathways to Love."

- PL, January 97

Author’s Note

In the fall of 1996, I noticed that some of my poetry had taken a somewhat pornographic turn (Stripper Fantasy, Phone Sex Poem, Zipless); it was interesting to me, because I’d never explored that area of writing much before. Just like most members of XX Century American Culture, I’m constantly awash in images of sexuality, from the erotic to the pornographic - occasionally even touching on the sweetness we’ve come to call Love (though few, certainly including myself, have any idea what that truly is). The idea for a chapbook then came to me, with the prevailing idea being an exploration of sexual themes. The poems in this book date back to one of my favorite poems, which unfortunately describes an extremely painful time for both a friend (whom I hurt very deeply) and myself. You’ll note that there are approximately as many poems written for male lovers as for female ones; it’s my belief that we’re all given blessings and curses, burdens and gifts. Though I make no claim to understand the glorious complexities of my own desires, I know that my own sexuality has always, in this lifetime, been expressed with both men and women. The pendulum swings as it will. Some parts of our lives are given to us: choice is only an illusion in these cases.

The last poem was written in an attempt to sum up the book and my thinking, here, now. I know absolutely that all will change: body, desire, even spirit (in form, if not in essence). We are all works-in-progress; we start where we are: here; now. Sexuality’s a gift, sometimes a burden; Rilke said, "Live the questions now." I do. I believe we’re all doing just that.

In Love,

PL, Rahway NJ

January 97

(7) Poem: for Carol

They're walking on hot coals in Beverly Hills, but

Yuppie-siddhis don't impress me much

But the sleepwalker, in dream state

Thinking they were honey-covered scoops of ice cream

Laughing, placed those burning coals on his lover's breasts

Vicious, ignorant scars

The horrors of his own hand

Appear to him on waking:

What has been done, cannot be undone.

So much cruelty in the name of love

So much pain in the guise of protection

So much selfishness returning to loneliness

Her deafening silence (her anger just)

The ordinary ring of a telephone

NYC

March 86

(8) Holiday

Time is illusion. Track lighting, Tina Turner, lusting for the legs of the long-haired Chinese boy, burning in the silent tease of ripped faded jeans.

He is unsmiling, unseeing, sharing late dinner with his unshaven friend. Apart, I am ghost, sipping coffee.

Beyond brittle glass, no relief: the moving crowds.

Earlier, lit with neon and classics, I find the teacher's first book, find a poem on walking late in the Village, as I too walk late, the same Village

Lust versus friendship: desires becoming needs. The bastard Time, always all-powerful. Bitterly accepting: waiting.

Her dress: a tight-fitting return to op art, tightest at her tiny waist; I note the moves of her wide hips, she exits, I still stare

Her butt

His hair

My words

The way through is given by accepting the now.

The Village night: another.

NYC

August - October 87

(9) Poem for Leslie: On the New Beginning

It seems to be that now you’ve learned this new thing, this your given, this your own: nova-bright, searingly sweet, ecstatically real

It seems that now the past is